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Can I pack a bearing without a "bearing packer"?

5K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  77SS 
#1 ·
I just picked up a small utility trailer kit. The instructions say to pack the wheel bearings. After I grease up my two wheels, I don't see the need to ever do it again. Do I need to buy a "bearing packer", or can I just do it by hand?
 
#4 ·
Just be sure you wash all the old grease out. Use the parts cleaner of your choice and a stiff brush. When done, use compressed air to blow the cleaner out. CAREFULLY and THOROUGHLY examine the cleaned bearing for brush bristles. Using a small screwdriver, start packing grease between the two shells down amongst the rollers. Then rub grease on the rollers and rotate the outer shell in yer hand, full of grease, trying to pack more in all the time. Ain't hardly such a thing as too much grease on wheel bearings EXCEPT when there's so much that it melts or slings off onto yer brakes :oops:

I noticed Otterzone has a plastic bearing packer for less than $10, looking like a pair of funnels slipped inside each other. Being a real cheapskate, I've never bought one and may try spending more money by buying a pair of funnels and making my own :lol:
 
#5 ·
79Elky said:
Just be sure you wash all the old grease out. Use the parts cleaner of your choice Ummm, no. Using solvents or high solvent content cleaners will eat the coating off of the bearing rollers allowing them to pit very easily. Do not use anything but a clean rag to wipe down the bearings and the new grease will force what is left of the old grease out.

When done, use compressed air to blow the cleaner out. NEVER use compressed air on a tapered roller bearing (or any bearing for that matter). You will spin the bearing (now dry from the cleaner having removed all the lubrications) and possibly (probably) ruin it.

Using a small screwdriver, start packing grease between the two shells down amongst the rollers. WTF, use a screwdriver to force grease into the rollers….no. Place a small amount of grease into the palm of your hand and using your hand press the bearing into your palm, repeat this process until you see fresh grease emerge through the opposite side of the bearing. Then rotate the bearing and repeat this process until the entire bearing has fresh grease pushed through the rollers.
Bad advice is worst than no advice.

You need to clean and repack your wheel bearings at least annually if not more often. On a trailer depending on what type (boats need this done more for water intrusion) you should be packing a couple times a year.
 
#6 ·
dennis68 said:
79Elky said:
Just be sure you wash all the old grease out. Use the parts cleaner of your choice Ummm, no. Using solvents or high solvent content cleaners will eat the coating off of the bearing rollers allowing them to pit very easily. Do not use anything but a clean rag to wipe down the bearings and the new grease will force what is left of the old grease out.

There IS no coating left on used bearings. The coating wears off almost immediately upon use. It's like the coating on new lifters: intended to help new rollers break in.

New grease won't force the old grease out; and worse, won't force out any particles inside the cage.

When done, use compressed air to blow the cleaner out. NEVER use compressed air on a tapered roller bearing (or any bearing for that matter). You will spin the bearing (now dry from the cleaner having removed all the lubrications) and possibly (probably) ruin it.

You hold it so it doesn't spin.

Using a small screwdriver, start packing grease between the two shells down amongst the rollers. WTF, use a screwdriver to force grease into the rollers….no. Place a small amount of grease into the palm of your hand and using your hand press the bearing into your palm, repeat this process until you see fresh grease emerge through the opposite side of the bearing. Then rotate the bearing and repeat this process until the entire bearing has fresh grease pushed through the rollers.

That's one way but it doesn't push out all the old gunk inside the cage.
Bad advice is worst than no advice.

Sorry, that's how millions of backyard mechanics have done it for decades. It works. Try it. I've never lost an old bearing after repacking that way. Ever.
 
#7 ·
Bearing grease

For a little different take on the subject. Getting them clean first is a given, however the change lies in the amount grease going back in. In the past I have been like most and tried to force as much grease into a bearing as possible. Years ago a friend of mine was working as a rep for a bearing company. The subject came up while we were talking and he told me that the bearing manufacturers recomended that unless it was a very low RPM application, the bearings should be packed one third full. Their reason for this was, it was harder on the bearing to push the extra grease at high RPM than any benifit from extra lubrication. In other words one third full was plenty of lubrication, and having some room in there made it easier for the bearing to rotate. I gave it a try and with no problems have been doing it that way since, thats probably been close to thirty years. Now when I see those plastic funnel things, I think there is one of those overpackers.
 
#8 ·
I agree about overpacking. Once I pack mine, I reassemble them back in the spindle, loosely at first, then rotate the wheel some to force grease out, tightening the nut little by little to allow the rollers to rotate and force more grease out. I wipe off the excess. A buddy of mine didn't do the slow-tightening-while-rotating on his Cutlass and was going through bearings every cupla months. I showed him how I do it, we did it that way, and it's been over a year since he put the last set in. Doesn't mean they won't die tomorrow, just that there's a difference in how he did it versus how I did :p
 
#9 ·
79Elky said:
Sorry, that's how millions of backyard mechanics have done it for decades. It works. Try it. I've never lost an old bearing after repacking that way. Ever.
I can't afford to "try it", if I lose a bearing heading into "Riverside" at BuRP it won't be pretty. If one of my drivers loses a bearing hauling 120,000lbs. worth of 2 million dollar equipment, my boss will probably kill me. It's not worth the risk to "try" and do it wrong when the right way takes neither more time nor effort.

I’m pretty sure “millions” is a huge exaggeration because of the hundreds of backyard guys I know, none do it your way.
 
#10 ·
I give up.
 
#11 ·
8O I didn't mean to start any trouble here.

I was just looking for options. I believe that if you ask 12 different people how to do something, you'll get a dozen different ways. That's just how it is.

I like to hear opinions (without condeming others) and do what makes sense to me. That's what this forum is for.

79Elky said:
I noticed Otterzone has a plastic bearing packer for less than $10, looking like a pair of funnels slipped inside each other. Being a real cheapskate, I've never bought one and may try spending more money by buying a pair of funnels and making my own :lol:
Yes, after reading some of the posts, I picked up that same funnel bearing packer for $7.00



After using it however, I have to believe I could have done the same job without it, like Papa John said!
 
G
#12 ·
Had to add my two cents...

He stated it was a small utility trailer, so its not going to be super critical but:

Packing by hand is the only way to get a bearing packed properly in my opinion.
Preloading and making sure the bearing is seated and tightened properly is CRITICAL.

If a bearing is failing after a year someone is doing something wrong.

If you are really worried get a fluid sealed setup.

Best bet for you: Pack the bearing by whatever method and install a bearing saver.

Bearing Saver Link
 
#13 ·
I've always found those bearing packers to make more of a mess than doing it by hand. I dry bearings with compressed air, holding it so it can't spin. Those things can build some phenomenal RPM if you let 'em!
My ol' Dad used to melt the grease on the stove, just till it ran, and drop the bearings in. Fish 'em out when it cools, and they're as full as they can be. Too full for really high speeds, though.
 
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